Total Serum Immunoglobulin E in a Cohort of Children with Food Allergy

Background: Total serum immunoglobulin E (TsIgE) has not been examined in children with food allergy.

Objective: Evaluate associations of TsIgE with patient, household, environmental and community-level characteristics among children with food allergy.

Method: Linear mixed effect models of data from 398 Black and/or African American (B/AA) and White and/or European American (W/EA) children with allergist-diagnosed food allergy from the multi-center, observational cohort FORWARD; TsIgE in kU/L was the primary outcome measure.

Results: In univariable analyses of data from all study sites, children's TsIgE was positively associated with older age (p < .001), B/AA race (p < .001), male sex (p = .014), lower household income (p = .005), lower caregiver education (p = .005), higher area deprivation index (p< .001), presence of allergic rhinitis (p < .001), asthma (p < .001), and eczema (p = .024), and a higher number of food allergies (p< .001), but not with tobacco smoke exposure. With covariable adjustment in multivariable analysis, total serum IgE was higher in older vs. younger children (p < .001), male vs. female children, B/AA vs. W/EA children (p < .001), and in children with allergic rhinitis (p = .010), asthma (p < .001), eczema (p = .007), or a higher number of food allergies (p < .001), but not with tobacco smoke exposure or area deprivation index.

Conclusions: In children with food allergy, age, sex, race, atopic diagnosis, allergic rhinitis, asthma and eczema are associated with TsIgE. These findings are important when TsIgE values are utilized in diagnosis and therapies.